Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Sesame Street The Musical Review. Aiming for Muppet loving first-time theatergoers.
New York Theater: At “Sesame Street the Musical,” an hour-long show in which nine puppeteers portray 11 familiar Sesame Street characters who each get a familiar Sesame Street song to sing, there was one musical number in particular that seemed most to delight the theatergoer sitting next to me.
4 comments:
Jordan Pincus
said...
This was such a weird, fun article. There are a handful of shows that are set up like this, with the puppeteers below the stage and the puppets above the stage floor - Disney Junior Live at Disney World is like that. The parody playbills in the lobby remind me of MuppetVision in Disney World, which is an absolute classic. I guess you could argue that having children enjoy a theatre-style performance of something they love, as opposed to the same screen TV show, is prepping them for the same kind of stimuli as they get older. First of all, one of my greatest joys is seeing extremely talented, accomplished people on Sesame Street. It’s delightful. For example, I love that Tom Kitt wrote a song for this. I do find it lovely knowing that Sesame Street still has the charm and energy of the Muppets, just for kids. It definitely comes through when they do bits for the parents.
I feel like it is really important for theater to be for all ages. Kids should be shown theater at a young age and this a good way to do that. Also the use of interactive theater I feel like is growing each year. I think it is awesome when writers can figure out how to include the audience in any show. Great Comet is my favorite show I have every seen on Broadway because of how it makes you feel imersied and a part of the show. Great comet does this with shaker eggs and having everyone hold up there cup and including the audience by dancing with them. Sesame Street does this in a different way but still effective. By having a photography season after with dolls and posters the kids can purchase. Making a interactive theater expierence is important for all audience member because it shows how theater can leave a long and lasting impact.
I absolutely love this. I am all for shows that are family friendly for all audiences and most of all include puppets. It reminded me of this marionette show I went to this summer back in Los Angeles at Bob Baker Marionette Theater. It was the first puppet show I had been to since I was a kid and I left with a new sense of joy. There was something so lovely about how along with all the families and kids there were also just couples and groups of people to enjoy the puppet show. It didn’t feel like a “kid show” , it felt like its own art form. I feel like that could also be said with this show especially since they mention there is something for everyone. I’m also a huge fan of the muppet show at Disneyland that they unfortunately got rid of. So even though it doesn’t include the favorite muppet characters, it still probably has that nostalgic feeling.
Puppetry is something that will increasingly always terrify me. But the craft is awe inspiring and satisfying to watch. It’s so cool to watch how different people make different uses out of every day material into something or someone that will make millions. I also think the parodies for all of the different songs is so hilarious. That’s the thing about puppets. It’s already so cheesy, so any joke you make to go along with it will automatically be funny because it’s funnier than the puppet. They also rely on a lot of physical and slapstick humor and I think it’s still scary but funny enough to say the least. Avenue Q really got the ball rolling on puppets in theater and I wish I could get rid of them forever but I think they’re here to stay for good. Oh well, I wonder if I can get a puppet made of myself….
4 comments:
This was such a weird, fun article. There are a handful of shows that are set up like this, with the puppeteers below the stage and the puppets above the stage floor - Disney Junior Live at Disney World is like that. The parody playbills in the lobby remind me of MuppetVision in Disney World, which is an absolute classic. I guess you could argue that having children enjoy a theatre-style performance of something they love, as opposed to the same screen TV show, is prepping them for the same kind of stimuli as they get older. First of all, one of my greatest joys is seeing extremely talented, accomplished people on Sesame Street. It’s delightful. For example, I love that Tom Kitt wrote a song for this. I do find it lovely knowing that Sesame Street still has the charm and energy of the Muppets, just for kids. It definitely comes through when they do bits for the parents.
I feel like it is really important for theater to be for all ages. Kids should be shown theater at a young age and this a good way to do that. Also the use of interactive theater I feel like is growing each year. I think it is awesome when writers can figure out how to include the audience in any show. Great Comet is my favorite show I have every seen on Broadway because of how it makes you feel imersied and a part of the show. Great comet does this with shaker eggs and having everyone hold up there cup and including the audience by dancing with them. Sesame Street does this in a different way but still effective. By having a photography season after with dolls and posters the kids can purchase. Making a interactive theater expierence is important for all audience member because it shows how theater can leave a long and lasting impact.
I absolutely love this. I am all for shows that are family friendly for all audiences and most of all include puppets. It reminded me of this marionette show I went to this summer back in Los Angeles at Bob Baker Marionette Theater. It was the first puppet show I had been to since I was a kid and I left with a new sense of joy. There was something so lovely about how along with all the families and kids there were also just couples and groups of people to enjoy the puppet show. It didn’t feel like a “kid show” , it felt like its own art form. I feel like that could also be said with this show especially since they mention there is something for everyone. I’m also a huge fan of the muppet show at Disneyland that they unfortunately got rid of. So even though it doesn’t include the favorite muppet characters, it still probably has that nostalgic feeling.
Puppetry is something that will increasingly always terrify me. But the craft is awe inspiring and satisfying to watch. It’s so cool to watch how different people make different uses out of every day material into something or someone that will make millions. I also think the parodies for all of the different songs is so hilarious. That’s the thing about puppets. It’s already so cheesy, so any joke you make to go along with it will automatically be funny because it’s funnier than the puppet. They also rely on a lot of physical and slapstick humor and I think it’s still scary but funny enough to say the least. Avenue Q really got the ball rolling on puppets in theater and I wish I could get rid of them forever but I think they’re here to stay for good. Oh well, I wonder if I can get a puppet made of myself….
Post a Comment